This Week in Chemistry – The Secrets of Roman Concrete, and Bactericidal Compounds on Mars

Here’s the weekly summary of both new chemistry research and studies that have been in the news. This week features research on why Roman concrete is stronger than modern concrete, the discovery that bactericidal compounds form on the surface of Mars, and more. As always links to further articles and original research papers are provided below.

Note: links to studies behind a journal paywall are indicated with (£). Studies without this symbol are open access, and can be accessed and read for free. Asterisked studies are free but require logging in to read.

Please note: none of the graphics on this site are intended for a specific chemistry syllabus, and it should not be assumed that they comprehensively cover any portion of required content for particular qualifications.

The Compound Interest Book

The chemical structures in Compound Interest's graphics are created using PerkinElmer's ChemDraw® Professional v15 desktop software. Includes PerkinElmer copyright material. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. ChemDraw® may be purchased online here.